dawn's knitting

August 30, 2005

I've already cast on for another pair of pink socks, this time in 3x1 rib. It's a big ball of pink yarn!

Now for the disaster...I've been knitting on Polly's fabulous Kiri shawl, and it's been lying around work waiting to be blocked. This is for a swap, and needs to be posted this week. So, I pick it up just now to stuff it in my bag and take home for a wash, and I notice a few loose stitches. My first thought was 'creatures!!'See how the stitches are unravelled? This is in quite a few places.

My brain immediately started looking at the possibility of knitting something in two days to replace the damaged kiri. Then I calmed down, took another look.It's not the cast on edge, nor the side edges. It's the cast OFF edge. I think it's highly probable that in my rush to cast off, I've dropped a few stitches (Icelandic cast off) when I've slipped the just-knitted stitch back to the left hand needle.

So now I just can't help myself. I've found a straight needle here at work, and I'm tinking back the cast off edge, stitch by stitch. Already past the first lot of unravelled stitches, and the yarn is intact, it's as I thought, my mistake. Can you imagine if I'd not noticed this until I was stretching Kiri out? Kidsilk Haze is a bugger to frog. It catches on each stitch. But I can assure you, these stitches have unravelled as smoothly as if KSH was 100% silk!

Many thanks for the sympathy over the weekend. I'm not sure if I had a bug or a virus or a food allergy. I know that I dozed all day Sunday and slept a solid 10 hrs on Sunday night, and awoke full of the joys of Spring on Monday. Not much knitting done though, just another inch of the Asymmetrical (saving that one up) and those socks.

CaterhamAnyone going to The Yarn House on Saturday? I thoroughly enjoyed it last time, and I see from their website that Tess & Les from Silkwood Angoras will be there, so lots of their stuff in stock! Is it Jan who bakes the cake?? Jill and I are meeting up at Clapham Junction, if anyone is coming that route.

August 28, 2005

This is just a quick post. It's our last summer bank holiday, and I get a tummy bug. I've not done any knitting for two days. I've got a temperature and a terrible griping stomach pain, and spent most of last night pacing the flat. So today I've been snoozing on and off. I've had a couple of paracetemol and I swear, I'm a new person! Temp is down, aches and pains are diminished. So I thought that I'd get in a quick post whilst the going's good!

August 24, 2005

Yes, a knitting slump, caused by having too few wips on the needles. A pair of boring old ribbed socks, and Martha. My Bella, I'm sad to say, has died a death. Cathay and Bella didn't get on at all. Despite adjusting the pattern to fit my tension, she was turning out too wide.

So I've succumbed to the asymmetrical jumper
. Now Cathay looks really good in this rib stitch pattern. I've only knitted 1-3 inches (depending on which edge you measure) but I like it and know it's now officially a wip. No photos, I need to synchronise camera and Asymmetrical first.

Other knitting news is slack. Despite watching 7 episodes of 24 over the past three evenings, I've hardly picked up the needles, preferring to pick up the vodka instead.

Chris's boring sock is stuck at this position
. It's so boring, not even a colour change to keep me interested.

Martha's front is slowly coming along. I'm halfway up the armhole bits. If I can manage a piece every two weeks, I should finish this in October. But by then I ought to be well into Christmas knitting. Oh dear.

Finally, another acquisition! 'Bags and Accessories based on Andean Knitting'

So expect a bit of history on the Andean peoples, some information on the materials and techniques used and then the patterns, mainly bags, with some gloves, scarves, mittens and socks included. It's quite an interesting book, though I've only glanced through it. This is one way to get another New Year Resolution under my belt (colour knitting) without too much angst.

She's the woman who wrote Folk Mittens, by the way.

I have Nicky Epsteins second book on edgings on the way too, expect a lot of scarf knitting in October!

August 21, 2005

I left work on Friday with a happy heart. With only Martha and a pair of ribbed socks on the needles, I felt that the time was right to start something new. Although I've just bought some new noro and debbie bliss yarn, I really wanted to use some stash yarn. Actually I'd earmarked Debbie Bliss's Cathay as the next WIP yarn, just hadn't decided on a pattern. I was too tired to start anything new on Friday, we just slobbed it in front of the tv with lots of wine and vodka, and watched another 5 episodes of 24.

Saturday I was too hung over to start something new (like finding a pattern, doing a tension square) so went with the old favourite - a one skein koigu scarf. A real pleasure to get back to koigu. This is for a work colleague, who's a bit tacky and likes really bright colours, the more sparkle the better. I'm afraid the colours aren't very tacky at all, lovely teal and pink, but the beads are quite bright. She's been after one of these scarves since last winter. Here it is, unblocked (might as well have a blocking session over the bank holiday).

It's not as asymmetrical as it looks!

And a close up of the beadsHmmm even these don't look as sparkly as in real life!

So this morning I start hunting around for a new WIP. Yes, the Cathay is top of the list, but I find some Rowan River Tape, from last year's Liberty sales, which allegedly knits up like cotton tape. Out come the needles and away I go. It might have a knitted tension similar to cotton tape, but it ain't cotton tape; there's none of the drapiness and weight and it's a completely different piece of knitting. It's gone back in the stash. I imagine that next summer I'll either make some weird openwork summer top out of it, or sell it on e-bay.

Back to the cathay. I really want to knit the asymmetrical sweater but I'm not really 100% certain that I want to use this for something that might look outdated quite quickly. I still might knit this, but for the moment, it's Bella. At this moment, I'm on my third attempt at this. Attempt 1 - wrong size, far too wide.Attempt 2 - didn't count stitches and had 7 too few.Attempt 3 - missed out a k2tog on row 1.Attempt 4 - an inch done. Is it curling up? How does Cathay cope with a good pressing - will it be killed? Hmmmm. I need a few more inches done before I decide if this is going to work.

August 19, 2005

When I started Kiri, last Saturday, the weather here in London was pleasant, warm but not too warm. As Kiri has grown, the temperature has climbed, culminating in an unpleasantly hot and sticky Thursday, just as I'm on the border of the shawl. Not a nice experience having a shawl's worth of kid silk haze resting on one's lap. And this morning (after I've finished the knitting of the shawl)? Cold and wet. The view on the way to the tube station, at 7.30am was horrible, very dark and gloomy!Hard to believe it's still August.

Kiri isn't blocked yet, and won't be for a few weeks, so the following photos aren't great advertisements for Kiri. The model, Natalya, has been stroking Kiri all week. She prefers the unblocked, lumpy look, and was extremely happy to model the unblocked shawl. She even had it on inside out, but didn't seem to mind.

Front

Back

And Russian mode (she's a Russian Latvian)

Seeing is believing, how this woman wears a shawl, a real natural! Who needs a moebius scarf when you can do this with a triangular shawl? She'll make a fantastic babushka in the distant future!

So now, I'm free to start something else. I just have to make up my mind which way to go. Summer or Autumn knitting? Lace, cables, plain or patterned? Shawl, jumper or cardigan? (no socks). 4ply, dk or aran? Which book? Which pattern?

There are several contenders to Next Knitting.

1) A cardigan in Cathay. No, I really want to make that asymmetrical jumper

August 16, 2005

As I've not got much on the needles (socks, Martha and Kiri), I'm just whizzing along on Kiri. No problem at all with finishing this before the end of the month! I'm halfway through the second ball now, just starting the 10th repeat.

Honestly, it's grown! 30 more rows of the body to go. I'm so encouraged with the growth rate that Kiri is officially my commuting knitting this week. Let's see if I can finish it off this week! I just have to keep focused and not let my mind wander to new projects!

Speaking of new projects, John Lewis had a supply of Noro in last week, so I popped over in my lunch hour, and ended up buying these little skeins (packs actually, but the rest is in office storage)From left to right, cashmerino astrakhan, silk garden and auroro.

The astrakhan will end up as a cardigan, I just can't make up my mind which one! There are several designs in Simply Soft and of course, the cardigan in Vogue Fall 05 to choose from.

The Silk Garden will either be this cardigan (all clickable pics)or this jumper

The Auroro is set for this
or this

Just typing this post makes me want to get the needles out and starts something new, I'm like a child in a sweet shop!

August 14, 2005

Waving Lace Socks (IK Spring 2004) in Lorna's Laces, Poppy. Great pattern!My sockapal-2-za doesn't have a blog, so I've not been able to find out much info about her. Hope she likes them!

And more finished socks. These are knitting in Lucy Neatby's Celestial Merino yarn. Unfortunately, the yardage isn't too good for a pair of socks. I've had to lop about 3/4" off the foot! These may well end up as a gift for one of my friends with small feet. I can wear them, just, but they are really too short in the foot, I can feel my toes curling!

Go with the FLow socks (IK Summer 05)Lucy Neatby's Celestial Merino. I chose this colour (something like seashore or seashells) to take on holiday with me. It's nice knitted up, but the colour looks better in the skein!

Martha

I have Martha on the needles still. This has morphed to UFO status, and I anticipate Martha becoming another Agnes, dragging on through winter into next Spring. I've finished the back though (courtesy of 6 episodes of 24 on dvd; I drank far too much wine and vodka though, so had to stop knitting after episode 3!).

Back. Only the fronts and sleeves to go. Sigh.

New project alert!Now that my socks are finished (just the obligatory sock on needles for commuting), I've started something new. This is also for a knitting exchange in September, and I'm running out of time. It was either going to be socks or a small shawl. I'm pretty fed up with socks at the moment, and fancied a change, so it's the shawl route. Kiri to be precise (many thanks to Polly for a fab pattern!). Very clear instructions, great charts, and the pattern is so simple that you'll have memorised it by the time you've done the first pattern repeat. I'm really pleased with my progress so far.

This is the old ksh. I'm in love with the new sparkly one and this will be on the next knitting hit list!

August 11, 2005

If things had gone to according to plan, I'd be showing you a lovely photo of yet another pair of socks (aka clearing-the-deck-for-New-Season-stuff). My Go with the Flow socks aren't going with any flow. I've spent all evening frogging the toes, and progressively more of the foot, in order to accommodate the yarn shortage. Yes, Celestial Merino does not have super yardage.

The length of the sock leg, to the beginning of the heel flap, is about 5.5". And it's a lace pattern. Yet the sock has been sucking up the yarn. 60sts. 2.25mm needles. Harumph.I don't have extra long feet either, just a UK size 6.

Progress at midnight last night:

Good job that I have plenty of dpns!

On holiday, I popped into the LYS in Christchurch. It's a small shop, selling lots of the novelty yarns and acrylic mixes, although it does sell lots of natural fibres too. I picked up some new-to-me sock yarn. It's Sirdar Town & Country 4ply, 224yds/50g, 75%wool, 25%nylon. I'm afraid that I only picked up a very boring self-striping colour. I'm sure that there were a couple of brighter shades in the shop as well.

I leave you with yet another view of our beach huts! This picture was taken on Hengistbury Head, looking down on the huts. It's not clear, but they're on a spit of land, with the harbour on the left. Our hut is on the harbour side, less sand and we get the sunset!

August 09, 2005

Just look at my sockblockers socks! I love these sockblockers! Not that I'll be using them to actually block socks, but they certainly come in handy for photographs.

Broadripple socks knitted in Elann Sock it to me! Esprit (cotton/lycra). I followed the pattern exactly, and used just under a ball a sock. A great Fixation substitute.

I've very little (for me) on the needles. Another couple of pairs of socks, Martha (still UFO status) and a stalled shawl. Looking at all of the knitting magazines out for Autumn I'm pretty pleased about this, as there's at least half a dozen designs that I've seen kicking around blogland that have popped to the top of the wish list.

August 07, 2005

and having a chuckle about my last post's comments! This was not my holiday knitting, alas! It was stash kept in the backpack which I had to turf out so that I could take my packpack away with me. I only took some lace yarn (didn't get too far) and some sock yarn. I really thought that I could knit a shawl and four pairs of socks in 9 days! As it was, we were kept busy with barbeques and meeting friends, so not much knitting done at all.

The one knitting photo. I had high hopes for the lace knitting, but the yarn wasn't cooperative and I have half a very tangled skein in the bottom of my knitting bag. The needles didn't work out either. It's the Summer in Kansas shawl from Two Old Bags. The sock yarn is Elann's version of Fixation, and the pattern it the broadripple pattern from Knitty.

My camera broke halfway through the holiday, seems to be working now (sand!) but the batteries have just given up on me, so I leave you with the only other three photos I've transferred over to the computer.A few friends over for a bbqBilly and Chris chilling out on the beachAnd this is how much he's changed in 6 years!

This one was taken today at Chris's parents house.

Hopefully I'll get organised this week to recharge the battery and take lots of knitting photos. I'm so out of it, we've got stacks of washing to do and most of the unpacking, but I'm off to crack open the vodka and watch Aliens for the umpteenth time!